flowerfox
by cody-d-foxy
Summary: after being attacked by Itachi while away on his three year training trip. Naruto's life won't ever be the same AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So I decided that I couldn't old this story to myself anymore this was actually the first story that I thought of I would however like to give credit to Kraken's Ghost his story Foxhound was my inspiration to this story however the similarities will end sometime between chapter 2 or 3. It really depends on how I decide to write it**

**So I would like to give a "big ups" to my beta/collaborator Demon Wings**

**Sunrise**

Ino awoke drenched with a sheen of cold sweat covering her body, the usually stunning blond kunoichi looked like a mess. Her hair was all over the place, her face was flushed, and the rest of her body seemed to have lost all color until it was a sickly pale. She sat up in her bed as she tried to regain control over her breathing. She had had nightmares before, but nothing quite like the dream she had just woken up from. This dream seemed far too real for her liking, but she strangely couldn't remember anything about the dream other than the fact that it had been the most terrifying dream that she had ever had and the silhouette of a boy about her age. The boy had short spiky hair and he was maybe just an inch or two taller than she was and strangely enough when she had first seen this boy she had felt at ease, that was until something had happened. Ino couldn't remember what had happened all she knew was that it was something that had very nearly made her wet herself in fear.

"Whew! It was just a dream." The blonde had said to herself in the mirror as she splashed some water on her face trying to calm her shot nerves. In the two years since the last Uchiha had left Konoha Ino had definitely filled out nicely. Her breasts which were a mid B-cup had grown to a very supple C-cup; she had lost what little baby fat she had left and was now a very lean yet voluptuous girl. The best part about her new growth in the last two years was that she wasn't hung up on the last Uchiha anymore; she had allowed herself to go on a couple of dates with other boys since he had left, but hadn't found anyone very special. "Well I guess I should get my day started now. I really don't think that I'll be getting back to sleep after that." And with that said the blonde kunoichi went about her usual business.

**Earlier that night**

"Ahh! That was horrible, but there really is nothing better then a good nights rest after a long day of training." said the young boy that had laid down next to the soft warmth of the fire.

"If you thought that was bad just wait until tomorrow. Oh ho the surprises that I have in store for you." said the white haired man almost giddily.

"Fuck You! Old man don't give me that shit! You almost killed me today." Snapped the blonde shinobi

"Ah but the key words there being 'ALMOST' if it didn't kill you then you'll only get stronger. So shut it you ungrateful brat." Quipped the sannin "If anything you should be grateful that I'm spending my time training you when there is SOOOO! Much research to be done" the man said excitedly this time with hearts in his eyes which only caused the young man to sweat drop.

This had become the norm for the young blonde boy and the old man. They would train hard…very hard so hard in fact that the blonde boy thought that he had in fact died and gone to hell only to find out the white haired man was the devil himself and Hell was to continue the hellish training.

Well tonight the patter was shattered as a man appeared standing a short ways away from them. It was just one solitary man who didn't look like anyone out of the norm. He was about 5'8 in height, jet black hair; most of his body was hidden behind a black cloak with the only things making this man stand out were two of the brightest eyes you had ever seen. They looked as if they could pierce right into your very soul and judge your worth. The man had appeared out of the blue right into the middle of their camp. This was not the first time Naruto or Jiraiya had faced Itachi; however neither of them really wanted to see what the missing-nin was up to at this time of night.

Unfortunately before either Naruto or Jiraiya could even react to Itachi's presence the missing-nin had already ensnared Naruto in his powerful genjutsu known as Tsukuyomi. Realizing just what Itachi had done Jiraiya decided that it would be in his, and the boy he came to look at as his son, best interest if the sanin just grabbed the blonde boy and ran

'Shit this really isn't good it's only a matter of time before he catches up to us. I don't even want to think what that sick bastard is putting the kid through.' Thought the old hermit. If only he knew just how right he was.

Naruto had only looked at the intruder when everything faded out leaving him alone in a blackness that seemed to stretch on endlessly. Glancing up Naruto saw the blood red sky and obsidian black skies. These were all he needed to confirm his suspicions as to what had happened to the camp fire, Jiraiya, and the strange intruder. Genjutsu was all he could think before something caught his attention.

Sasuke was slowly rising up out of the blackness Naruto was standing on. When he stopped emerging from the ground the last Uchiha was standing no more than fifteen feet away from Naruto. When the last Uchiha locked eyes with Naruto the blonde saw that the Uchiha's sharingan enhanced eyes were filled with the same smoldering look of apathy that had come to be the raven haired boys signature look. Then with that same dismissive monotone that he had always spoke with the sharingan wielder spoke.

"You dumb ass. Did you actually believe that you, the dead last, could even have a snowball's chance in Hell of actually be equals with me. The only thing that you were good to me for was giving me an extra body to train with and being a stepping stone on my path of hate." The venom coming through in that cold monotone was sever enough to melt through the strongest of metals. And as the words left his mouth Naruto felt what could only be described as the single most painful thing that he had ever experienced in his rather painful life. It felt as though a flaming sword had be stabbed through his heart only to be ripped out and have battery acid poured though the open wound in his chest.

After that Sasuke disappeared only to be replaced by Kakashi. The odd jonin simply looked at Naruto, though this time the usual playfulness and light heartedness in his lone uncovered eye was gone. In its place was a look of total and utter disappointment that cut Naruto worse than any kunai or shuriken ever had. The only words spoken by the man Naruto had come to look up to, were "You know he was right, right?" in the usual lazy and dismissive tone. That was all the single sharingan wielder said before he disappeared just as the Uchiha before him had.

This time Naruto felt as if two swords coated in acid had been plunged into his body before they were twisted about inside of him. Compared to this new pain every pain he had ever felt before paled in comparison. It was like comparing a paper cut to missing a limb. And so for the next indefinite amount of time person after person and friendly face after friendly face appeared before Naruto. Each one would spare him a single glance before dismissing him with harsh and cold words. Each time one of them left the pain coursing through his body would double and triple. Eventually it reached a point that had it not been for the fact this world was controlled by Itachi, Naruto would have blacked out from the levels of pain he was feeling. After every person Naruto had ever come to care for had dismissed him Naruto was left alone in a realm of darkness where no sound or light would be able to reach him. His only company was the never ending pain that constantly racked his body.

During all of Naruto's suffering Jiraiya had been trying his hardest to evade the Uchiha that was pursuing him. The old toad hermit had run full speed for thirty six hours straight before. But that was without the dead weight of his student on his back and when he had been at full strength. Finally finding an acceptable place to try and hide Naruto, Jiraiya probed the boy up in a sitting position before turning around and heading out to try and cover his tracks from their pursuer. Not to long after the white haired pervert had left, Naruto awoke form his almost catatonic state. When he did awake he was much worse off than he should have been from after coming out of the genjutsu. Mostly due to the fact that before any of this had happened he had exhausted his chakra reserves training with his white haired sensei.

Itachi using his sharingan had found the place Jiraiya had hid the jinchuuriki with ease. Without a moments hesitation Itachi entered the clearing and picked up the incapacitated young blonde. Naruto was only able to grunt and pray that Jiraiya saved him as he lifted off the ground. As he waited for whatever Itachi had planned for him Naruto prayed to every entity he could think of that the suffering ended quickly.

**The Next Night**

Ino went to bed that night hoping that she had been able to remove all traces of that hellish nightmare from her mind.

"That was last night. There is no way I am going to have the same dream again." She told herself calmly as she laid down in her bed. Within five minutes Ino was out like a light and not long after she started to dream again. This time however the silhouette of the boy was illuminated a bit more but all she could see was the soft spiky gold hair of the boy. Looking further up and behind the boy she saw a man wrapped entirely by the shadows except for his two blood red eyes that would instill fear into the most hardened of shinobi. He then mumbled something out that she couldn't quite make out but would later come understand.

"Here's a little gift from Sasuke." Then she felt the most excruciating thing she had ever felt as she watched the man plunge his lightning incased hand into the boys body before pulling it out along with half the boys organs. The last thing she saw was the boy falling forward to reveal the brightest and warmest pair of cerulean blue eyes she had ever seen. At least until they went cold soon afterwards.

As she awoke she let out an empty scream that emptied all the air from her lungs. And she had to quickly run to the bathroom so she could throw up without making a mess everywhere. It wasn't until she left the bathroom and was heading down the hall of her house that she realized just who it was that she had dreamed about as she only knew one shinobi that would have matched the description of bright golden blonde hair along with those bright pools of cerulean. It was "Naruto!" she gasped.

The young kunoichi immediately knew what she had to do. Without a moments hesitation Ino leapt out of the second story of her house. She ran full speed to the Hokage tower. 'There is only one person who will know what too do.' Thought Ino as she arrived in front of the Hokage's door. Without a second thought Ino threw open the door.

"Hokage-sama." Ino began "I think Naruto-san needs our help!"

Needless to say Tsunade was quite surprised at the sudden intrusion into her office in the middle of the. The 50 something year old blonde when annoyed was more than enough to make even the most battle hardened shinobi wet themselves in fear. So the young genin bursting into her office took a second to get used to the glare the hokage was directing at her.

"And what would make you say that?" Said the Godaime in a very bemused tone "You are aware that he is currently training with one of the sannin?"

"I was Hokage-sama however…" Ino replied hesitantly. What she was worried about was being laughed at for her reasoning, but remembering the killing intent behind the red eyes Ino quickly swallowed any fear that she might have had and continued. "For the past two nights I have had the most intense dreams that one could imagine. Each of these dreams had the same star, a young boy about my age with spiky hair and cerulean blue eyes. During the first dream I could not make out any details of this boy I just know that he had undergone one of the most terrifying and painful things I could imagine. However, tonight I was able to make out a few more details of this boy he had bright golden blonde hair and two of the deepest and liveliest cerulean eyes that I have ever seen. That was at least until..." Ino trailed off.

Now Tsunade was not normally a woman known for her patience but the young Yamanaka girl had at least provided her with some slight amusement and she wanted to hear how this story would end.

"Until what?" the Hokage asked

"Until they went cold with death." The blonde girl begrudgingly replied

"While I suppose that it could be Naruto I fail to see how that proves that he is in any danger. From your story it sounds as if you just had some bad dreams, but the most surprising thing for me is not what happened in your dreams but who the star of said dreams was." Responded the Godaime with a mocking chuckle "Could it be that a certain someone has developed feelings for a certain blonde knuckle head?" she chided raising her eyebrows at the question.

"No! Hokage-sama I have had weird dreams before but none were ever so real or terrifying as the ones with the man with the red eyes, sharp enough to pierce through your soul, who put his hand through Naruto's stomach!" Screamed the blonde genin

Tsunade sighed deeply "Ino I know that you really believe that something is wrong, but I just can't in good conscience waste our shinobi on what could easily a wild goose chase. You understand right?" She said regretfully

"NO this is no goose chase! Tsunade-sama please let me show you my dreams if you still don't believe me at the end of it then I will drop the subject, but I'm telling you this was no ordinary dream." Begged Ino

"Fine if it will get you to drop this then show me." Replied the buxom blonde Hokage before Ino flipped through the necessary hand signs for her family jutsu

"I should warn you this will not be pleasant" said Ino as she put her hand on the Hokages head allowing her memories to flow into the older woman

In a matter of minutes the memories stopped flowing into Tsunade's mind and as soon as they finally stopped she was left gasping for air and gagging. Quickly reaching for her trash can she finally gave in and threw up. It was at this moment that she knew that the blonde girl in front of her was not lying when she said that it wasn't an ordinary dream. Another important thing was that Tsunade had recognized the red eyes that Ino had spoken of as the Sharingan and knew that she would have to act very quickly if the boy she had come to know as her little brother and her friend were to survive. She quickly had Shizune summon Kakashi and Gai. As soon as they arrived she debriefed them set up a rescue team including the copy ninja, the green beast of Konaha, Shizune, Ino, and herself. While she normally would never have included a genin in such a mission her hand was forced in this situation. Not knowing where the perverted hermit and number one knuckle head ninja were at and for some odd reason or another Ino seemed to be there best hope to find them.

**Elsewhere**

Shortly after the blonde shinobi had been stabbed by Itachi Jiraiya had shown up in a blind furry at having his student injured while he was gone. He took up his fighting stance prepared to lay down his life to avenge Naruto. However, something just wasn't sitting right with Jiraiya. 'Why had Itachi tried to kill Naruto? Wasn't the ultimate goal of the Akatsuki to capture the Fourth's legacy.' The toad sage thought. However this hesitation was more then enough time for the Akatsuki member to make his move as he pulled a kunai and rushed at the legendary Sanin. Before he realized it Itachi was upon him going for a killing blow. Had it not been for his extensive training he would have been a goner. Instead he narrowly avoided a mortal wound in the neck for a deep gash across his upper left pec to his shoulder as he dodged by jumping to his right. In order to make up for lost ground Jiraiya took in a deep breath and flipped through a familiar set of hand seals before releasing his fire ball jutsu. However to someone with Itachi's skill the fire ball was nothing more than a burst of hot air. Not to be out done though the Uchiha decided that two could play at that game and without the use of a single hand seal unleashed his own fire ball that consumed his opponents.

"Did you really think that you would be able to stop me with such a weak jutsu?" Itachi said coldly

"You know what I was kind of hoping that it would by me enough time." replied Jiraiya as his white pin cushion hair that had just saved him from the fire receded from surrounding him "But there is one thing that I can't figure out. Perhaps you could enlighten me?"

"And what would that be?" answered Itachi in the same cold monotone that he always spoke in.

"Well I thought that the Akatsuki wanted the boy alive for whatever reason. So why would you come here alone and deal what would be a killing blow to him?"

All Itachi could do was chuckle, and this proved to piss off the old hermit even more but he remained calm. "Well who am I to refuse the request of a dying man. You were right that was the goal of the Akatsuki, but whoever said that me and them had the same goal?"

"So you're saying you don't have the same goal as the Akatsuki then?" asked a perplexed Jiraiya.

"I didn't say that either now did I." Replied Itachi smugly

"So what was the whole point of attacking Naruto that way?" asked Jiraiya who was becoming more confused by the second

"I merely wanted to test the limits of my power against the Kyuubi vessel." Itachi said in a bored fashion

"So… you've left Akatsuki then?" asked Jiraiya who was still not quite understanding Itachi's motives behind the attack.

"You know for a man known around the world for his spy network you sure are an idiot." Mocked Itachi "But allow me to enlighten you of my reasoning…" He began however before he could finish he was forced to dodge a barrage of kunai thrown at him from the arriving rescue team.

"Jiraiya where's Naruto?" Asked Tsunade demandingly as she landed next to her former team mate while still keeping her eyes on the Uchiha.

"The kid's against the tree behind me but after everything he put the kid through I don't even know how much you could do for him." Jiraiya replied scowling at Itachi the entire time.

Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino all turned to look at the blond laying lifelessly against a tree nearby and were shocked at what they saw. He was almost unrecognizable, his golden blonde hair was a mix of crimson and brown due to his own blood staining it and then coagulating. His face was swollen showing that he had been beaten badly, and then there the fact that he was missing 2/3rds of his torso. His body was missing the entire areas of his stomach, half of his left lung and most of his left arm as well. A thin strip of organic tissue and the boys spinal column was all that was left connecting his chest to his legs. Honestly if it wasn't for the hideously tattered orange jumpsuit that he was wearing they probably wouldn't have recognized him.

When Ino saw this she immediately fell to her knees covering her mouth with her hand as she began to cry at the sight in front of her. Tsunade and Shizune however knew that if Naruto was to have any chance at survival they had to act quickly. They rushed to him with a medic on each side of him and then they started running though hand seals. For the next thirty minutes they sat there and meticulously applied a chakra cast to his entire torso to prevent him from bleeding out though without immediate intensive care they knew they would lose him. When the two finished ensuring the boy would at least make it back to the village they turned to see Gai, Kakashi and Jiraiya all attempting to kill Itachi.

Tsunade finally being fed up of feeling helpless decide to turn around and take out all of her frustrations out on the person who caused this whole mess. So with a crack of her knuckles she charged at Itachi ready to demolish anything in her path.

Now Itachi was anything but a slouch but after using the Mangekyo Sharingan, chakra enhanced running for twenty four hours, and fighting not only Jiraiya but now Kakashi and Gai, Itachi was beginning to feel exhaustion set in. It was at this point that his Sharingan saw some movement coming from behind the three men and his instincts quickly took over and had him jumping out of the way in the nick of time just as Tsunade came down with a punch that left a ten foot deep crater in the ground where he used to stand.

"Um… Tsun-mngh" Kakashi began before he was stopped by Jiraiya's hand covering his mouth.

"Do you really want to say something stupid and then have all that anger directed at you?" Whispered Jiraiya. Upon hearing this both men went wide eyed realizing that in all likely hood the event they were trying to avoid would happen sooner or later.

Itachi decided that it would be in his best interest if he didn't fight against two sanin, another Sharingan user who was a former anbu captain, and a special jonin that specializes in taijutsu and combating the sharingan. Itachi quickly realized that a retreat was his only option for survival and saw the only way of managing a clean get away. Quickly gathering all the chakra he could spare into his lungs he began flipping through a set of hand seals familiar to all the ninja present. Then he unleashed a version of the fire ball jutsu that was so over loaded the fire was white and blue instead of the usual red and orange.

Ino having turned around at some point during the fight saw the fireball coming and watched the older shinobi leap out of the way in instinct, but she was frozen to the ground in fear. As she saw the gigantic fireball heading her way spelling her demise but still couldn't bring her body to move. Just as the flames were about to reach her there was suddenly a figure in front of her blocking her from the flames. When she looked up she saw the sight of Naruto's broken and battered body shielding her from danger. His blood began to boil and started to explode out of his body from his eyes, nose, ears and the rest of his body as the chakra cast shattered under the attack. But through out the entire thing he never stopped smiling at Ino as he looked down at her crying form.. Her pale blue eyes locked with his electric blue ones. When the flames ended all of the strength that Naruto had previously shown had left his body and he fell forward only to be stopped from hitting the ground by Ino who had caught him. Cradling his body into hers she allowed the feelings of anger, hopelessness, and sadness to wash over her, and she began wailing into the night sky.

Seeing what had happened the older nins cursed and Tsunade and Shizune began doing what little they could for the boy. After they stopped the bleeding with another chakra cast and made sure to cool the blood inside the boy down to a safe temperature Tsunade tried to pick up Naruto's body only to be stopped by a hysterical Ino. The poor blonde girl refused to stop cradling the boy's head.

"Ugh Kakashi can't you do something about this." Said an annoyed Tsunade, had she seen this under better circumstances she would have been happy for her little brother but right now he needed to get to a hospital.

Kakashi moved quickly following his orders looked right into Ino's eyes as his lone Sharingan started to spin knocking out said girl. However even as she lost consciousness she never let go of Naruto's head and in the last moments of consciousness made sure to fall backwards so that Naruto's head wouldn't hit the ground. Jiraiya picked up Naruto as Kakashi did the same for Ino before the cyclops said,

"You know that occurring under better circumstances that would have been a pretty cute sight to watch."

"Yeah but knowing the idiot under better circumstances he would have done something to screw it up." Mused Jiraiya trying to alleviate the morbid mood that had settled over the group

"Yeah well when he gets better I can't wait for the crap I'm going to give him about this." Chuckled Tsunade

"YOSH! That's the spirit Tsunade-sama! The FLAMES of NARUTO'S YOUTH shall not be extinguished so easily!" Yelled Gai forcing the other four Shinobi to cringe at the irony of the thought of what he said and all remained silent the rest of the way back to Konaha.

**A/N: So that's the end of chapter one I just want to add that the story Foxhound is probably my favorite story that I read on this site I highly recommend it. anyways please read and review **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So really long time since I posted sorry to keep you waiting but I got lazy and also had work and school to deal with anyway without further ado chapter 2 of Flowerfox**

The bright morning sun is what had finally awoken Ino from her restless sleep she honestly had never felt more exhausted, and was seriously wondering why she had placed her bed in front of her window that was at least until she remembered the nights events. Her exhaustion was quickly forgotten she began to look around her surroundings trying to figure out where she was. The first thing that she noticed was that all the walls around her where a sterile white intensifying the light in the room. She then noticed the smell of antiseptic and realized that she was in a hospital, where she didn't know but she knew that she was in a hospital none the less. Now that she knew where she was, the next item on her agenda would be to check on Naruto to make sure that he was fine. Looking around the room she quickly found the door and opened it. The sight that awaited her on the other side of the door however she was not prepared for. There standing in front of her was Kakashi Hatake NOT reading his regular orange book instead he was just staring at her.

"Ohiyo Yamanaka-san, I hope that you slept well in your hospital bed." Said the cyclopean jounin in a fake cheerful tone

"Um yeah I guess it was fine, but uh… do you think I could ask you a question though?" asked Ino

"Well I guess you could ask but whether or not I answer will depend on your question I suppose."

This however was not the response Ino was expecting and with a slight slumping of her shoulders asked "Oh well do you think that you could tell me how Naruto is at least?"

"Oh so there was more that you wanted to ask me then?" asked Kakashi with a slight teasing tone

"Well that was the main thing that I wanted to know but there are several other things that I would like to know, but I that is the most important one I can wait to ask those till later, so how is he?" asked Ino who was growing impatient

"Oh well as much as I would like to answer that question I just really can't" Kakashi began to say before he was cut off by an irate Ino

"WHAT DID YOU SAY? WHY CAN'T YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION?" she yelled

"Well like I was saying I would love to tell you however the simply answer is that I just simply do not know how he is…" he began again

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW YOUR OWN STUDENT IS DOING? WHAT KIND OF SENSEI ARE YOU? DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT HIM?" Screeched a livid Ino once again cutting off Kakashi again

"WILL YOU STOP INTERUPTING ME!" yelled Kakashi dropping his normally lazy and impassive tone and unconsciously leaking a little killer intent. Taking a calming breath he began again "now as I was saying before someone so rudely interrupted me" he stopped to glare at Ino "I simply do not know because Tsunade-sama asked me to look after you and when you finally awoke we could go find out how the knuckle head was doing. Now would you like to go and find out or should I just go without you?" asked Kakashi with a slightly annoyed tone

Now Ino was not normally one to apologize for her actions but even she had the decency to be embarrassed at her actions. Unconsciously her hand went to scratch the back of her head and she replied sheepishly "Oh sorry I guess I got a little ahead of myself if you could take me to see him that great though."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Replied Kakashi giving Ino one of his eye-smiles. Then with a motion of his hand they walked off in companionable silence to the I.C.U's nurse station

"Do you know where I could find Uzumaki Naruto's room?" Kakashi asked one of the many nurses at the nurse's station in the ICU

"I'm sorry Hatake-san but I don't know where _It _is." Replied the thirty something year old nurse with an unmistakable hint of venom in her voice

Before Kakashi could say anything he had his ear drum ruptured by a blonde haired purple blur who shouted "WHAT? What. Do. You. Mean. 'You don't know where he is.'" Growling out the last part of her Question as she slammed said nurse against the wall of the nurse's station

"Ino, why is it that I'm not surprised that you are the one that is make all this ruckus in my I.C.U." came the stern voice of the village leader

"Uh…um… Tsunade-sama I can explain honestly. You see this nurse over here wouldn't tell us where Naruto was." Ino shakily replied as she released her grip on the nurse

"Yes that would easily be explained you see Naruto just got out of surgery and assigned a room I was merely coming over to chart what room he was in. So imagine my surprise when I see you here harassing one of my nurses."

"Uh yeah sorry about that I guess that I got a little carried away." Said Ino while sheepishly scratching the back of her head in a very Naruto-ish fashion an act that did not go unnoticed by the other two shinobi

"Yes well I suppose there is no real harm done come along then I'll show you where his room is then" said Tsunade as she started walking away

Falling in step quickly Kakashi and Ino followed Tsunade. "Um Tsunade-sama" Ino began garnering her the attention of her village's leader "uh if it's not too much trouble do you think you could… uh… tell me how… uh … Naruto is" she finished quietly

Despite this being the question being expected the blonde Hokage could not help the grimace that marred her features. "Well he's stable and medically he should survive but there was some extensive damage done to his body and honestly I don't know how much work his _condition_ will do to repair said damage." She said grimly looking at the two sad faces "However, with a little bit of luck he should live." She finished with hope filled eyes

Upon hearing the village leader's response Kakashi could not help the sigh of relief that escaped his lips "Well if it's a matter of luck then I'm confident that Naruto will be fine. Since having him on my team one of the first things that I learnt was to never bet against Naruto 'cause you'll lose and badly at that." Said the Cyclops

While the adults in the room were conversing about the status of the resident Jinchuriki was a supremely confused blonde girl deciding to try rectify this situation "Ano Tsunade-sama you said that you didn't know how much Naruto's condition would help in keeping him alive so does that mean that he has a kekei genkai or something?"

"Yeah 'or something'…" Tsunade replied mumbling the last part under her breath 'ugh of all the things that she could have picked up on it had to be that one phrase.' she thought before continuing to answer the Yamanaka's heir "you see Naruto has an accelerated healing rate that we believe is an emerging bloodline. It's our thought that this is what has led to his abundance of energy and near limitless stamina."

"So does that mean that he has a clan somewhere in the village then?" Ino asked hopeful for her fellow blonde whom she knew had wanted such a thing for his entire life

"Well… no he is the only Uzumaki probably in the entire elemental countries, but definitely in the village there is no other Uzumaki." replied Tsunade a little dejectedly

"Oh… well would I be able to see him then?" asked a hopeful Ino

"Well the Gaki needs all the rest that he can get…" began the Hokage deciding to torment the girl who had suddenly become very interested in her little brother

"Oh… I see I wouldn't want to…" began a significantly more depressed sixteen year old blonde girl before the Hokage cut her off "But I supposeeeee" she began drawing out the last word just to grate the nerves of the girl "it would be fine for you to see him"

Tsunade had barely gotten those words out of her mouth before she was tackled to the ground by a flying purple blur who was nearly crushing her in a hug

"Ma, ma Ino-san I think you should let Hokage-sama up before the ANBU get the wrong idea and think that this hug is an attempt her life." Said Kakashi teasingly with one of his patented eye-smiles

Realizing exactly what she was doing a beet red Ino did the first thing that she could think of, she turned her head and buried her face deep into the mountainous cleavage of her Hokage

"Come On! You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, and here this girl not only gets to but she isn't even going to be beaten up for it." Exclaimed Jiraiya crying anime tears

Gently rolling Ino off of her Tsunade took Jiraiya's outstretched hand to helping her up to her feet. Maintaining her grip on said hand she used her monstrous strength to throw the toad-sage into the nearby wall.

Dusting off her hands Tsunade leveled a glare a Jiraiya "Well if you weren't such a pervert maybe you wouldn't get beat up all of the time or even better maybe a woman would let you do that to her without you having to pay her"

"Aw be kind Hime you know I only pay for it 'cause I can't have you right?" replied Jiraiya before getting a chakra enhanced punch to the face

After delivering her justice to the village's self-proclaimed super pervert Tsunade lead the remaining two members of her party down the hall before stopping at a room in the back corner of the hospital wing. Opening the door the two ninja could only gape at the state of the village's most energetic shinobi currently wrapped head to toe in bandages with multiple machines wired to him serving a multitude of purposes ranging from keeping him alive to monitoring status incase things went south

The sight was so shocking that the cycloptic jounin lost his mask of impassiveness his face opting for a look of gloom and depression. The youngest present however couldn't hold her emotions in check however and openly broke down and began weeping.

Pulling her emotions together just enough to ask a question Ino turned to her village leader and asked "Sniff…Sniff.. What's wrong wi-with him? Sniff"

"Well he suffered a Chidori through his stomach…" Kakashi visibly flinched "which when removed took his left arm and multiple organs with it. There were also signs that he was tortured mentally before that took place those were the injuries that he sustained prior to our arrival which while they sound bad, and they are, would not be enough to the knuckle head down; the injuries he received from the fireball were the icing on the proverbial cake though the organs that already sustained damage from the Chidori nearly stopped working as it is they are only working about 35 percent their normal capacity three quarters of his blood either evaporated or burst through his veins, he had fourth degree burns on eighty percent of his body, and finally all the fluid in his eyes flash boiled which forced them to explode." Replied the Hokage hiding her pain behind a mask of professionalism

With the information on her fellow blonde sunk in she could no longer hold in the emotional turmoil and she began wailing for her comrade "It's all my fault" she wailed over and over again followed by some incoherent mumbling in between her body wracking sobs

Feeling the pain of the young Yamanaka Tsunade wrapped her up in a gentle hug "Shh Why would you even think that it was your fault?" she asked softly stroking Ino's golden locks

Ino in between her sobs mumbled her answer into the busty Hokage's bosom "I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that" Tsunade said with a small smile gracing her lips

Pulling away and wiping her tears from her eyes Ino took a deep breath trying to regain control over her emotions before she replied "If it wasn't for me freezing up when Itachi launched his jutsu Naruto never would have had to jump in front of it to protect me then at least he would be slightly better off. So yes it is all my fault."

The words had barely left her mouth when a feminine hand struck her across the face. The slap itself didn't really hurt but it managed to do what the owner of said had intended it to do it shut the blonde up

Looking down at Ino who was holding her face where she had just been struck Tsunade began "If that is what you think then stop it. If the brat was awake right now he would tell you even if it meant his death he would gladly give anything for you or anyone else in this village just to make sure they were safe."

"And if that wasn't enough to sway your thoughts away from such an untrue topic the speed in which Itachi performed his jutsu was astounding if it wasn't for the Sharingan and years of battlefield experience none of the jounin present would have seen it coming." Interjected an unusually quiet Kakashi finishing with his patented eye-smile to try and alleviate the atmosphere in the room

Sniffling a few more times before Ino wiped her eyes dry before pulling up one of the chairs in the room and setting it next to the bed she sat down hugging her knees into her chest before looking over her shoulder at the other two occupants of the room "Thank you Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei I feel a little better now." Turning her attention to the beds occupant and gently grabbing the boys bandaged hand

Gently smiling at the scene in front of her Tsunade thought 'I really hope you pull through this gaki it looks like you just earned yourself a little fan club' before she motioned for Kakashi to follow her. When they opened the door they saw Jiraiya with his head down one hand up as if he was reaching for the doorknob. Passing by him quickly before Tsunade looks back saying "Come along pervert we have a lot to discuss." With that said all three vanished in a Shunshin to the Hokage tower.

xxx

Now that she was left alone in the room with her savior Ino took this time to gently examine her fellow blonde the few patches of skin that she could easily see were a mix between a reddish pink usually with blackened edges when she found some spots that hadn't suffered burns were a ghastly white color due to his lack of blood and despite being heavily medicated the blonde hero seemed to be having some kind of fit if his minor twitches were any indication. Without thinking about it in an effort to sooth him Ino began to gently stroke the few tufts of hair sticking out from the top of his bandages. 'Wow I never would have thought that his would be this soft or smooth… I wonder what kind of product he uses?' she idly mused. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she failed to notice that he had stopped his fussing, and so the pair remained until the sun set over the village. Ino had lost all track of time as she sat next to the blonde and her eyes began to droop shut and she nodded off still gently holding his hand.

xxx

the sound of dripping water is what had finally roused the sleeping beauty blinking the sleep out of her eyes the young Yamanaka took in her surroundings I appeared that she was in a sewer crinkling her nose in disgust she brought back her last memory of the waking world 'How the hell did I end up here the last thing I remember I was in Naruto-kun's room….NARUTO-KUN! When the hell did that baka become that?' she thought deeply disturbed by her thoughts deciding that she no longer desired to be in a sewer Ino decided to head down a random corridor. Examining the sewer around her to try and gauge where she was she noticed that the walls were severely damaged some had huge holes missing in them others were cracked so bad that she thought that the wall may collapse at any moment the pipes running along the roof and walls weren't in much better condition most were rusted and leaking untold amounts of water some pipes were obstructed by kinks in their line due to falling debris all in all Ino was thoroughly disturbed by the condition of not only the sewer she was in but also the fact that she had awoken here. Nearing the end of the corridor she noticed a doorway with a faint red glow to it assuming that it was someone who could help her out she rushes right into the doorway only to fall flat on her butt in horror.

Staring at her is a lone red silted pupil of a humongous crimson fox with nine swishing tails standing above one Naruto Uzumaki

Ino being the bright young woman that she is then does what any rational person in her shoes would do she screamed.

**A/N: so it has definitely been a while since I wrote anything and would greatly appreciate your opinions so please review and let me know what you think this is my unbeta'd version I'm going to send it to the two writers who usually beta for me unfortunately like I said it has been a long time so I don't know if they could still do it so if anyone wants the job please let me know**


	3. preview and AN

**A/N- to all who are fans of this story i would like to apologize for not regularly updating i have a really bad habit of procrastination but that is only like half of my problem the other half is that i have a new story that i have been plotting out so im going to try to finish this chapter after i start on the other so fingers crossed people**

XXX

An earth shaking scream rang out though the sewer that inhabited Naruto's seal/mindscape. This was the only logical reaction of one Ino Yamanaka as she came face to face with the Kyuubi no Kitsune

"**AHH women do you have to be so loud?"** asked the Kitsune pawing at his ears in an attempt to stop their ringing.

"But… Umm… You're… And I'm… So that means…" was all she got out before falling back in a semi-unconscious state

"Ugh… why must I continuously deal with these pathetic humans." Rhetorically asked the Kyuubi

Swiping his paw across the water in order wake the young blonde woman **"AH finally you've decided to grace me with your presence again. So are you going to stay conscious this time and let me speak to you?"**

Ino still fairly petrified of the Presence of the fox could only weakly nod

"**Good now then let me answer what I could only guess is your first Question. No I wasn't killed by your Yondaime I am a being of immense chakra and power I can not be so easily killed instead he did the only thing that you mortals can do against someone like me. He sealed me away into a new born child whose mind you are currently occupying."**

"So I'm not dead then?" the Fox only nods in reply "So then whose mind are we in? And how did I get here?" asked a thoroughly confused Ino

"**Your going to have to figure out whose mind we are in, but in regards to how you got here that's easy I brought you here" **said Kyuubi annoyance clearly visible at having to explain all of this to the girl

"Why can't you just tell me whose mind we are in you…you…BAKA-Kitsune" asked Ino puffing out her cheeks indignantly

"**HAHAHA I knew that you would be a good pick for him you two are exactly the same. Did you know that that is exactly what he calls me" **replied the fox in amusement

Realization suddenly dawned across the young Yamanaka heir's face. There was only one person in all of Konaha who had no regard of standing or position and just called them as he saw hem. "Na-Naruto it was Naruto but… but why him why were you sealed into him?" she asked as tears of understanding and regret ran down her

"**That is not an easy question to answer it could be that he was the only child born that day or I suppose that it could have been destiny I can't be certain." **

"But Naruto doesn't believe in Destiny and after seeing him constantly overcoming obstacles I would have to agree with him."

"**Foolish human just because you don't believe in something that doesn't mean that it doesn't believe in you and as I said it might be _destiny_ not fate."**

"Ano aren't they the same thing?"

"**Ugh why am I cursed to constantly deal with imbeciles? No Fate and destiny aren't the same thing fate doesn't exist there is no master plan that details the entire life of everything, however destiny is a very real construct there are certain events that must occur no matter what choices are made. Did that clarify things for you?"**

"Oh well then why did you call me here then?

"**That's what I was waiting for. You see I have a plan that will save this boy's career but there would be a couple of problems with it. One it will be incredibly difficult to convince the boy to follow through with this plan; then there is the big chested and the pervert who will also not like this plan and seeing as how your close enough to the three and probably the only one able to speak to the boy at the present time."**

"So then what is this master plan of yours" asked Ino as the Kitsune explained in great detail what it was that he had planned

XXX


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